Trap Holes

A hole in the playfield that captures the ball and holds it for the remainder of the game, unlike a Kick-Out Holes which ejects the ball back into play. The trapped ball rests partially above the playfield surface, where other balls can bump into it during subsequent turns. Trap holes were a defining feature of early 1930s pinball, appearing on machines like Bally’s Ballyhoo (1932), when playfields were landscapes of permanent hazards rather than circuits designed to keep the ball alive. As game design shifted toward longer ball times and player control, trap holes gave way to mechanisms that returned the ball to play.